


brilliance

by fluffysfics



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Big Spoilers, F/M, Fix-it fic, Reconciliation, i just want them to talk to each other, spoilers for Timeless Children
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-01
Updated: 2020-03-01
Packaged: 2021-02-28 06:08:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,254
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22978864
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fluffysfics/pseuds/fluffysfics
Summary: The Doctor needs a moment to rest. The Master isn’t letting her get away that easily.
Relationships: Thirteenth Doctor/The Master (Dhawan)
Comments: 18
Kudos: 268





	brilliance

**Author's Note:**

> scribbled this out in about an hour in the post-finale adrenaline rush so please forgive me if it’s a mess!

“I just...need a moment...”

The Doctor sighed, sitting against her TARDIS console and letting the tension slowly drain from her shoulders. She had a lot to think about. A lot to consider. 

Before she could even think, several things happened in quick succession. 

There was the flash of a teleporter- once, _twice_. 

Several Judoon were standing in her TARDIS. 

There was another shimmer from a teleporter, and then several brilliant flashes of light. 

Now, the Master was standing in her TARDIS, and the Judoon were the size of children’s toys on the floor. 

“What?” That was her gut reaction, the only thing she could think of to process what had just happened. “ _What_?” 

“They were tracking you, I’ve had my eye on them for days. They were going to put you in prison, so I locked on to their teleport signal and took care of them for you.” The Master shrugged, and tucked his TCE back into his pocket. 

“What?” Yeah, she still wasn’t getting this. Five minutes ago, the Master had been fighting for his life in the Matrix room, and she was sure Ko Sharmus had killed him. Him and all of his...cyber children. She shuddered. 

The Master regarded her for a moment, stepping closer. The Doctor realised that she should probably get up, prepare for a fight, but she was just...tired. So very tired. 

“I came here to apologise, Doctor.”

Oh. That was unexpected. And she didn’t believe it for a second. “You’ve never apologised sincerely in your life. Not even when we were kids.”

“Doctor, it’s been a month since Gallifrey.” The Master cast his eyes towards the ground. 

A month? She was surprised he’d waited that long before coming back for another confrontation. “You should be dead.”

“You really think I wouldn’t hide a TARDIS in the Matrix room? You know me better than that. But that’s- not the point. The point is, is- I’ve been an idiot.”

“That’s nothing new.” She folded her arms, fixing him with an ‘explain yourself’ glare. She just wanted to rest, but apparently she needed to be the Doctor for just a little longer first. 

“You...you said that were so much more than me. You have no _idea_ how angry that made me, Doctor. But it’s all I’ve been able to think about since I left Gallifrey. That, and- getting the Cyberium out of my head, but I got that sorted. Doesn’t matter now, though.” He stepped closer, until the Doctor found herself pressed up against her own TARDIS console. The Master really didn’t care about personal space this time around. But...she kept letting him this close, because some part of her missed it. 

“If you’re looking for me to apologise for saying what I said to you, I’m not going to.”

“No. No, no, I-“ The Master shook his head. “I have spent so long trying to drag you down to my level. Begging you on my knees to push that button, going against everything I am just to see you _fall_ -“ A scowl twisted over his face, which was barely two inches away from hers now. “I can’t do it anymore.”

“You’ve said that before. Missy. You just wanted your friend back, and then you betray me at the first sign of your old self. I can’t trust a word out of your mouth, Master.” She wanted to. He was still so close, and after the day she’d had, the Doctor wanted to bury her face in his shoulder and _scream_. 

“What? I didn’t betray you, you _left_ me, Doctor, you-“ He stopped, stepped back. The look on his face was...surprise. Genuine surprise. “Oh, you have no idea, do you?”

“What are you talking about now?” The Doctor finally peeled herself away from the console. She needed to move, so she paced a slow circle around him. 

“I never betrayed you, Doctor, I went with my old self just to stab him in the back. Literally. And then he shot me, and the next thing I remember was waking up as- well, me. Alone. No Doctor in sight. You _left_ me.”

She stopped in her tracks. This...this had to be another lie. It had to be. “Show me,” she insisted. “I don’t- I can’t believe you. Show me you’re not lying.”

The Master surged forward, pressing his hand against the side of her face, two fingers against her temple. A flood of memories washed through her- Missy walking away, a hug, the older version of the Master laughing with blood on his hands. The rush of victory, and then the searing pain of death. 

The Doctor stumbled back, shock written over her face. “I’m- I didn’t- I should have gone back. Should have looked for you, but I was dying too. I almost did die, and then- I woke up on my TARDIS. Away from the space station.”

“I was so sure that you’d abandoned me.” The Master held her gaze for a long second, and then a bitter laugh rose up from his throat. “Look at the two of us...”

“I’m sorry,” she said, her voice choked. It had been such a long day, she just wanted to rest, she-

“No, I am.” The Master closed his eyes, and slowly sank down to his knees. When he met her gaze again, he looked...so impossibly sad that it made her hearts ache. 

“I found out how special you were, Doctor, and it _broke_ me.” His hands curled into fists at his sides. “I wanted so desperately to break you in return. Prove to myself that you were no better than me, and all that time, I never even _thought_ -“ 

“Oh, Koschei...” He’d always been competitive. Even as a child, he’d always had to be the best, come top in every test. The Doctor could only imagine how much it had stung to learn the truth. She knelt in front of him, lifting her hands to cup the sides of his face. “I’m no better than you, but not because you’re- _lesser_ , somehow. You shine brighter than anyone I’ve ever met. You’re brilliant, and you always have been.”

The Master sat back on his heels, tears shining in his eyes. He shook his head, but it wasn’t a disagreement. The Doctor wasn’t quite sure _what_ it was. 

“I miss you, Doctor.” The admission was soft, his voice rough with emotion. She couldn’t kneel anymore- she had to stand, had to pace again. 

“Tell me what you want, Master, tell me why you’re here. I’ll- I’ll do my best.” She missed him, too. And with her companions at home, and no particular desire to go fetch them, she was alone. 

“I want to travel with you.” And there it was. The words that made her hearts clench and sing, despite the bone-deep exhaustion that ran through her. 

The Doctor knew that this was a questionable idea at best. Apologetic as he seemed, the Master had a long history of changing his mind, pulling the rug out from under her at the last minute. 

But...oh, they’d come so close to repairing things with Missy. And now her perceptions of how _that_ had ended had been altered forever, and there was some tiny seed of- of cautious optimism within her. Some tiny part that saw the aching loneliness in her chest, and believed that the Master could help fix it. 

The Doctor offered him a small, weary smile, and extended her hand. 

The Master took it. 


End file.
